20 June 2016

This week I restarted the theme of the day for the reminder of our summer. It does help us stay busy and cooperating (insert laughter). We will follow the daily themes of: Make-It Monday, Try-It Tuesday, Wander Wednesday, Thoughtful Thursday, and Fabulous Friday. We did our Monday craft on Sunday because Mia and I went to Denver for her post-op appointment. We spent a happy hour coloring the trendy intricate color pages now available. We went on a nice after-dinner walk on Sunday. I miss doing that every week but it's been so hot we are miserable. Everett almost perished while biking his way home, those little legs get tired so quickly.

Monday I farmed out the middle kids so Amelia, Josie, and I could make a faster trip to Denver. We returned all of the items rented for her recovery period (shower chair, commode, and wheelchair). I drove Evelyn out to spend the day with Allison and Ella. Phillip spent the day with Kaylee. Everett got to spend time with the Rognon family! I hear Everett got to drive to Sterling for a fun hour or so at the park. Amelia and I enjoyed some girl time. We arrived at the hospital 15 minutes early so I would have time to figure out how to cart all the stuff inside in one trip. We managed! Amelia held Josie in the wheelchair while I piled on stuff we would need and the items to return. Once inside we waited over an hour for Dr G to see Amelia. She inspected her incision, moved her leg around a bit, and declared it was healing fine. She is to come back in two weeks for an X-Ray and another inspection. Dr G did clear Amelia for swimming and bathing as long as she continues to not put weight on her left leg. Amelia was delighted we the visit was so long because that meant we got to dine at Noodles and Co for dinner. I cheated and got her dinner there then we walked over to Chipotle where I got my dinner. The drive home was a bit nerve-wracking. The van front tires were on the verge of being bald. It heavily rained the entire drive home. The tire traction lights came on over 25 times on the way home. I can still feel the van water skiing along. Thanks to my Dad's tactical car driving lessons we made it home safely. We stopped in Sterling for yet another nursing break. Amelia and I saw the coolest red-tinted rainbow reflected in the sky.

Tuesday we made homemade slime with glue, water, and borax. The borax causes the molecules of the glue to stretch and adhere to each other. The kids played with the slime for several hours. I am still finding dried spots of glitter slime on the carpet. Everett cut his portion into teeny tiny pieces with school scissors. The kids played intergalactic space travelers with their slime. I tackled the laundry. It multiplies like naughty rabbits. I gave it the beat down.

Wednesday we wandered to Scottsbluff. Amelia's retainer somehow got bent and was choking her at night. We drove up there to have the retainer refit to her teeth. Sounds complicated but it only took like 3 minutes. I'd do it myself but each retainer costs $300 plus, not touching that gadget. After our quick ortho stop we grabbed sandwiches then visited the zoo for 4 hours. Our zoo is small, yet the perfect size. The kids get to see animals, play at the little play areas (dino dig, water/sand park, play equipment, and photo boards), and get wet at the splash pad. Three other families from our ward also visited at the same time! We ate our lunch before the others arrived. I rented a wagon for Amelia. In many ways it was a bit much pulling a wagon and steering a double stroller. We maintained a slow and steady pace. It was HOT outside. Jack Rognon pulled Amelia around to see the animals. By the time we saw the Tiger and new baby Zebra Everett about fainted anticipating the splash pad. He made it over to the water just in time. The kids cooled off in the freezing water. It was so cold Evelyn would not get more than her toes wet. I enjoyed visiting with Michelle. I am going to miss her big time once they move in a month or so. Darn it all! We will still be here when Jesus comes again. We drove home around 4 pm. Poor Josie screamed for 20 minutes before we arrived to Dalton. I found the park where I nursed her and let the kiddos play. I had to use the facilities something fierce so left the older kids at the park and went to hunt down a bathroom. I made it just in time! Thank the stars the Beauty Salon was still open. My kids were still at the park when I got back. They all had to use the bathroom as well...this time we snuck into Allison's home to use her bathrooms (with permission).

Thursday Jen came over to visit in the morning. Everett was busy spelling his name out. He decided his name was too long and hard to spell. We both heard him mutter: "I am going to replace my name with a symbol....an exclamation mark!" Ok Mr (!) aka the artist formerly known and Prince. I am still laughing over his witty comments. we made Father's Day gifts for Justin. We made little figures made out of rocks, painted the rocks, and glued them to a paper that read "My Dad Rocks!" Amelia made a policeman Dad, Mr Awesome. I made a church daddy for Evelyn. Everett's rock dad had one short leg and one tall leg, he is wearing a red, stretchy exercise jumpsuit like the red Power Ranger. Phillip made a hilarious luche libre wrestler dad complete with tattoos, red undies, lightening strikes, and claw marks. Josie started blowing raspberries and foaming at the mouth. It is cute and slobbery. Evelyn ran around with her bare bum hanging out. Hey! At least she is taking herself to the bathroom! She has not had an accident in days. She just refuses to wear pants, shorts, diapers, or undies. She tolerates dresses (because she can't get them off) and swimsuits. I think she tried to draw psychedelic pants on her legs while we crafted. She looked like a homeless child with the markered legs, Popsicle stained legs, wild hair, and dirt caked smile. Amelia threw a 2 hour screaming/crying fit right after lunch. I cannot remember why she started crying...probably because Phillip looked at her, wait maybe I told her no swimming because she started a fight with the boys. That was emotionally draining to listen to her drama. We all hid in the basement while she ranted upstairs to her lonesome self.

Ella spent the entire day with us Friday while Matt worked and Allison attended Youth Conference. The kids were terribly excited to have a Lemonade Stand. The got out the cart, decorated the cart, made 3 pitchers of juice, and parked themselves outside for 4 hours. Amelia named the stand "Vader's-ade". The kids even made the local newspaper! By 1 pm the kids earned $52.50 selling lukewarm kool-aide. After deducting the cost of supplies each kid took home $10, except for Phillip who bailed after 90 minutes. I had Abby take the older kids swimming while Evelyn and Josie napped. The kids spent half or more of the money at the pool snack bar. Everett was delighted to buy one pack of each candy in stock. He ate it all too before I arrived. I showed up later with the girls and stayed until close. Poor Mia got quite the sunburn on her shoulders. Somehow the sunscreen fell out of the swim bag so Abby could not slather up the white kids. Amelia cried and moaned for three days about her sunburn. She finally realized that wearing her same swimsuit was the most comfortable. We cooled off her burning skin with Burn-Free and essential oils. We fed the Sister missionaries homemade enchiladas, Mexican rice, beans, and salad. They are pretty good sports with our crazy kiddos. They seem to go nuts when folks come to visit. I am glad they don't fight and moan as much when company comes over.

Saturday our entire household work up cranky. I wanted to crawl back into a dark hole after waking up to the terrible cries of constant murmuring. The kids made special crafts out at Jen's shop for Father's Day. Amelia was pissed off the entire time because she did not get to make all 4 crafts. The boys were poking around all of Jen's stuff, not all of it entirely safe. Her shop is a goldmine of old stuff ready to be transformed into something new. Amelia made a custom hammer for Justin, the boys hand monsters, and Evelyn a flag with (Amelia's) handprint. Somehow we made it through the day. I was relieved when the kids were bathed and in bed. Phew. I made divine mint brownies for dessert with ice cream. We enjoyed the treat!

Father's Day was pretty fun. The kids all made him something at church. Justin got to watch the kids sing since the Bishopric sat with the congregation during the music. Evelyn tried to sing with the kids but instead was treated with a few stolen moments on Justin's lap. She was not happy when she had to sit with me again. Little stinker sat in time-out for scratching Everett then again for pulling Phillip's hair. She is a wild cat! A persistent wild cat. You tell her no and she redoubles her effort even triples her efforts. It drives the other kids crazy. I am teaching her that hands are for doing nice things like tickles, hand shakes, and petting...she ignores me. We caught glimpses of Justin throughout the meeting. He grilled up T-Bone steaks and veggies for dinner, my gift to him for his special day (the steaks, not the veggies). I read the kid's Father's Day quizzes out loud during dinner. We sure are blessed to have such a great Dad! He is the best.